Skiing with Jesus!

Tuesday greetings!

My, my our God is a truly awesome God indeed!  Last week I wrote about feeling God’s presence and how God works in our lives.  Not always in the way we are looking for or hoping for but in a way we need.

This past week has truly been eye opening and has really showed me the incredible ways in which the Lord works. 

On Friday, I embarked on a journey accompanied by 10 other adults and 80 youth to go skiing.  After nearly two years of talking and planning, the Diocesan Youth Ski Trip finally made its return to West Tennessee! 

As we loaded the buses to head to slopes, I was not prepared for the amazing ways the Lord was about to begin to work in all of our lives.

We had arranged to stay at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Ellisville, MO.  We had been talking and working out details for a few weeks but we were still walking in blind.  We had never seen the church, had no idea what the facilities were like, and had no idea where would house everybody for the weekend.

Upon arriving two members of the church waited up till midnight to greet us with open arms!  Everything just fell into place perfectly!  Things could not have gone smoother if we had planned it.

We spent two days on the slopes at Hidden Valley Ski Resort and we all had a blast! 

Something that I enjoy doing every now and then is looking back and seeing how God was working in my life when it may be too difficult to see in the moment.

When we were on the bus heading to Missouri, I looked in my backpack and noticed that my sunglasses, the brand new pair that I had literally bought the night before just for this trip, had broken.

Well that was a great thing to find out!

The second day we were on the slopes, the weather was a little warmer and I did not want to wear my goggles and I really wanted to just wear some sunglasses.  Naturally this bothered me cause I thought back to my new, sad, broken, little sunglasses that would never be able to worn on the mountain.  Poor sunglasses!!!

Well, I decided that I would go into the gift shop and just buy a new pair.  As I was checking out, the cashier noticed my hat with the Episcopal shield on it and asked if I was an Episcopalian.  Naturally, in a very energetic voice, I proclaimed that I was and asked if she was too.  She was!  I then asked which church she was a member of and ironically enough, she was a member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, the same church that where we were staying!

Now this may seem like a simple coincidence and maybe it was.  But that doesn’t stop me from thinking back to this simple event and how because of that we were able to thank her for the hospitality that the church had shown us.  As word spread, more of the adult chaperones and youth went into just to say thank you to her and talk about their church.

While this may be a very simple almost forgettable moment, I think it is important to remember them. 

Whether it may a simple coincidence or an act of God, I was grateful for the chance to thank a member of the parish for the kindness extended to us.

It was also yet another reminder to me to always be looking for how God is working in my life and in the world.

So this week, all I will say is to keep your eyes open. 

God is working.